"Ray Allen, the Sonics' leading scorer last season, will have arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle tomorrow to remove a loose particle that has bothered him for the past 10 days."

Today is the day Denver Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe has to decide whether or not to pick up Rodney White's option.

He said he will decide right before the deadline but trading him is not out of the question either.

"I guess (a trade is) a possibility, but it's not a probability," Vandeweghe said Thursday before the Nuggets lost 102-85 to Houston at the Toyota Center. "I don't have anything out there. I'll tell you, right now, nothing is going on. But it's a possibility, I guess."

"(Allen)Iverson suffered a strained left shoulder during the 76ers' practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine yesterday. His status was listed as day-to-day, meaning that he could miss tonight's game against Sacramento, the opener of a three-game trip."

"The Warriors' injury situation worsened with word from (Eric)Musselman that rookie shooting guard Mickael Pietrus will miss three to five games because of a sprained left ankle sustained in the fourth quarter of Wednesday's opener against the Dallas Mavericks."

"Lamar Odom continues to respond well after spraining his ankle Tuesday but remains a game-time decision for tonight."

"One player who could possibly fill the Heat's empty roster spot is Josh Powell, a rookie who was waived by Dallas earlier this month, and one who the Heat did bring in for workouts before the draft. Vincent Yarbrough, formerly of the Denver Nuggets, and Walt Williams are also free-agent perimeter players."

Clippers.com is reporting that All-Star forward Elton Brand has a hairline fracture of the fourth metatarsal in his right foot and is now expected to miss four to six weeks.

The injury was diagnosed by Dr. Steven Shimoyama, a member of the Clippers? Los Angeles-based medical staff traveling with the team in Japan.

Brand, who missed 18 games last season with a stress fracture in his lower left leg, logged 21 points, 15 rebounds and tied a career-high with eight blocks in last night?s 109-100 loss to the Seattle Supersonics, the season opener for both teams.

"The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed center Jamaal Magloire to a contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released."

It has been reported that the extension is for three years.

Kobe Bryant participated in a half-court, four-on-four scrimmage Wednesday morning and then said Saturday night's game at Phoenix was "a definite possibility" for his return.

An article by Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom reverberated through the Sixers' locker room and organization yesterday. It stung, and it hurt. Allen Iverson, a target, as usual, chose not to make himself available to reporters. Billy King, the president/general manager, took the high road. Chairman Ed Snider ultimately responded from the bottom line.